Capability Dynamics: the importance of time to capability assessments

The paper examines the time dimension in the capability literature. It suggests that this literature has so far been limited to informational spaces that are static. This paper argues that assessments of quality of life and well-being are in fact dynamic and that are best understood from an evolutionary perspective. The question of capability dynamics is crucial to the issue of sustainable development. The paper is divided into four parts. The first part reviews some issues in the capabilities literature addressing the role of time in the formulation of capability assessments. The second part introduces dynamic concepts that are commonly used in social sciences to grasp the influence of time. The third part operationalises the capability dynamics discussion by introducing the concept of "evolutionary tools" - a way of intertemporally assessing capabilities. It is argued here that “becoming”, in addition of “being” and “doing”, is an important category of analysis and that this extension of the capability informational space is coherent with its emphasis on processes and the role of valuational activities. Development involves an expansion of basic freedoms, an expansion that might be seen as dynamic rather than static.